University of Illinois Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Other names
The Lipstick Killer
Education
University of Chicago
Conviction(s)
Murder (3 counts)
Criminal penalty
Life imprisonment
Details
Victims
3
Span of crimes
June 5, 1945 – January 7, 1946
Country
United States
State(s)
Illinois
Date apprehended
June 26, 1946
William George Heirens (November 15, 1928 – March 5, 2012) was an American criminal and possible serial killer who confessed to three murders. He was subsequently convicted of the crimes in 1946. Heirens was called the Lipstick Killer after a notorious message scrawled in lipstick at a crime scene. At the time of his death, Heirens was reputedly Illinois' longest-serving prisoner, having spent 65 years in prison.[2]
He spent the later years of his sentence at the Dixon Correctional Center in Dixon, Illinois. Though he remained imprisoned until his death, Heirens had recanted his confession and claimed to be a victim of coercive interrogation and police brutality.[3]
Charles Einstein wrote a novel called The Bloody Spur about Heirens, published in 1953 which was adapted into the 1956 film While the City Sleeps by Fritz Lang.
On March 5, 2012, Heirens died at the age of 83 at the University of Illinois Medical Center from complications arising from diabetes.[3]
His story was the subject of a 2018 episode of the Investigation Discovery series A Crime to Remember.[4]
^Gabriel Falcon (October 24, 2009). "'Lipstick Killer' behind bars since 1946". CNN. Retrieved October 24, 2009.
^Brady-Lunny, Edith (May 30, 2009). "Gray area: Aging prison population has state looking at alternatives". Pantagraph.com. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
^ abLee, William (March 6, 2012). "William Heirens dead. Known as the 'Lipstick Killer'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
^A Crime to Remember, Season 5 Episode 2, "The Bad Old Days", February 17, 2018.
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